Frost at Midnight
by lightblue-Nymphadora
Summary: Neville remembers the time before his family. Neville/Hannah
1. Introduction

Frost at Midnight

**Frost at Midnight**

_The frost performs its secret ministry_

_Unhelped by any wind. The owlet's cry_

_Came loud—and hark, again! loud as before._

_The inmates of my cottage, all at rest, _

_Have left me to that solitude, which suits_

_Abstruser musings: save that at my side_

_My cradled infant slumbers peacefully._

'_Tis calm indeed! so calm, that it disturbs_

_And vexes meditation with its strange_

_And extreme silentness. Sea, hill, and wood,_

_This populous village! Sea, and hill, and wood,_

_With all the numberless goings on of life,_

_Inaudible as dreams! the thin blue flame_

_Lies on my low burnt fire, and quivers not;_

_Only that film, which fluttered on the grate,_

_Still flutters there, the sole unquiet thing. _

_Dear Babe, that sleepest cradled by my side,_

_Whose gentle breathings, heard in this deep calm,_

_Fill up the interspersed vacancies_

_And momentary pauses of the thought!_

_My babe so beautiful! it thrills my heart_

_With tender gladness, thus to look at thee,_

_And think that thou shalt learn far other lore_

_And far other scenes! For I was reared_

_In the great city, pent 'mid cloisters dim,_

_And saw nought lovely but the sky and stars._

_But thou, my babe! Shalt wander like a breeze_

_By lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags_

_Of ancient mountain, and beneath the clouds,_

_Which image in their bulk both lakes and shores_

_And mountain crags: so shalt thou see and hear_

_The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible_

_Of the eternal language, which thy God_

_Utters, who from eternity doth teach_

_Himself in all, and all thinks in himself._

_Samuel Taylor Coleridge_


	2. Neville Comes Back

**_LbN: Here's chapter one! Hope you guys like it!_**

**Frost at Midnight**

Neville slept like a herbologist. That is to say, he kept the window open, and woke at any subtle change in the weather. Thus, he had been awake for an hour, since the temperature had begun to fall at eleven o'clock. Tired though he was, he wouldn't be able to fall asleep. He tended to worry about his plants on the first snow of winter.

The night was quiet; the snow was falling without the help of any wind. Setting his book down on his night stand, Neville slipped quietly out of his and Hannah's bedroom and walked down the hall. Peeking into one of the other rooms, he smiled as he saw his son sleeping soundly in his crib. Neville tiptoed in and sat in the rocking chair. He glanced over through the bars of the crib, smiling and wondering if Harry's second boy looked as much like Harry as Frankie looked like Neville.

He began to rock in the chair, and remembered with a small yawn the last time it had snowed like this. It was seven years ago, one year after the fall of Voldemort.

* * *

"Good evening Mr. Longbottom," McGonagall smiled.

"Hello," Neville smiled and shivered as he took off his cloak.

The nineteen year old had sent a letter to the Headmistress two weeks ago and now was meeting her in the Three Broomsticks after a week of travel.

"How have you been?" his former professor asked.

"Cold," Neville smiled, "I'd forgotten how cold this country can be."

"I hadn't heard from you in a few months."

"After Gran died, I went to live with my great aunt on my mum's side. She's down in Granada, Spain. I…it was hard. I turned into my studies, and didn't really keep in touch with anyone but Harry. I had the idea two weeks ago, and…well, I missed Great Britain. When you wrote back to me, I got it into my head that I wanted to see Wales and Scotland again."

"I see," McGonagall nodded, sipping her tea, "Well, I've spoken to Professor Sprout, and she is more than willing to take you on as an apprentice. She wishes that you begin as soon as possible."

The young man's face broke into a look of shear happiness. Barely suppressing the urge to jump up and whoop. He did, however, begin to shake with happy chuckles. McGonagall smiled a bit, before handing Neville a few sheets of parchment. Taking them, Neville grinned once more at McGonagall and read them carefully. The pages contained the stipulations of his apprenticeship and he readily signed when he was done reading.

"You'll come back to the castle?" McGonagall asked, "You'll have your own quarters, of course. And there are no preparations to be made, save for the changing of some sheets and dusting. I'll send a message up to the castle, if you would like to move in tonight. Your room and office would be ready by the time you finished supper."

"I'd like that very much, thank you," Neville said, dropping a couple of sickles on the bar.

Minutes later, they entered the castle gates. Walking up the familiar steps of the castle, Neville really did jump up and let out a cry of joy.

**FAM**

He woke to the cold. He looked out over the snow covered grounds of Hogwarts, and reflected on the past few weeks. Warm, comfortable, and loved dearly in Granada, he had known that his great aunt was under financial strain while keeping him. She had told him repeatedly that this wasn't the case, but he knew better. Two weeks ago, while studying some of his plants, he had decided to write the Headmistress and ask for a position under the Herbology professor. While he had told McGonagall that he wanted to see the country again, and that was half true, but he was also looking into his options if his request at Hogwarts was denied. Shutting the window, he glanced once more over the grounds, before going back to bed.

A house elf woke him at seven that morning. A large breakfast tray with a note at the top of it was passed to him with a smile and a bow. He thanked the elf and opened the note.

_Neville,_

_I thought you might like a private breakfast, away from the noise of the Great Hall. If you would please go down to the greenhouses at eight thirty, Professor Sprout will be waiting for you. She will show you what you will be doing for your apprenticeship. Have a pleasant day,_

_M. McGonagall_

He ate his breakfast quickly, and jumped into a shower. He dressed in a simple ensemble of trousers and a shirt. Throwing on a robe, he picked up the Daily Prophet and scanned it as he walked through the now quiet halls of the school. As he passed classroom after classroom, he remembered how inept he had been at his studies. In the seven, well technically eight, years that he'd studied here, he never thought that he would make it; let alone come back. By the time he made it down to the greenhouses, his excitement had doubled. He was back where he belonged.

"Neville!" Sprout yelled from the doorway of greenhouse three.

"Professor," Neville grinned, "Thank you."

"Not at all," Sprout smiled, "Come in now, I'll show you all of your…charges."

They walked through the newly built greenhouse and Neville listened intently as Sprout detailed the work he would be doing that week. He would be busy, working to repot, prune, and recover the plants. A few of them had been slightly damaged by the night's frost and the falling autumn temperatures. After this brief but thorough instruction, Neville donned an apron and got to work.


	3. Work at Hogwarts

**_LbN: Here's the new chapter! Hope you like it!_**

**FAM**

As Neville stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around him, he tried to take a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. The day had gone well. He had worked in one of the unused greenhouses mostly, repotting things and doing inventory. By five o'clock, he and Professor Sprout had decided to call it a day. He would be sitting next to her at the staff table for dinner, and that was what he was nervous about. The last time the staff had seen him, he had just been one of Harry Potter's many sidekicks; a slightly chubby seventeen year old who could barely stand a cauldron up without assistance. He had no idea what to say to his former teachers, but knowing where he would be sitting eased his fears a bit. He would be between Sprout and Flitwick, so if worst came to worst; he could simply talk about their classes.

He whistled as he walked down the hall, passing a few stray students here and there. Dinner would be starting in about fifteen minutes, so a couple of them were heading down there now; most would wait until a bit later. He entered through a side door and walked along the staff table to his seat.

"Hello Neville!" Flitwick said as the young herbologist took a seat.

"Hi Professor," Neville smiled.

"How has your first day gone?"

"Good, but I feel like a first year again."

They laughed and Flitwick began to ask which of the different plants Neville would be caring for this term. Over the dinner, Neville outlined the duties in his apprenticeship for Flitwick and Sinistra, who was sitting to Flitwick's left. At a lull in the conversation, Neville took a few bites of his tuna casserole and scanned the sea of students before him. He spotted the ones like him almost immediately. He could always tell when a child was the way he had been, shy and insecure. The two he saw were most definitely students after his own heart, he had seen them, both second years, earlier in Herbology. He wondered what it was. For him, it had been the constant doubt and disappointment from his grandmother, coupled with the fact that he wasn't all that great at any subject besides Charms and Herbology. However, he had found while tutoring in Spain that all sorts of things lead to insecurity in a student. Sometimes it was a situation like his; sometimes it was lack of enthusiasm by the parents, sometimes it was teasing from friends. There was a laundry list of reasons for a young witch or wizard to have the shy, somewhat gloomy look about them; as if they were trying to sink into the floor. He wanted to know, but he knew that the biggest help they could get was simple encouragement- a field he was quite good in.

He pondered this as he finished his dinner. Once he was done, he bid goodnight to the professors and excused himself from the table. He walked in between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables and waved at both of the students he had wondered about previously. He smiled when each of them gave him a happy, but shocked waved back; probably wondering why he had noticed them. It's what he would have wondered.

He made it back to his room and rummaged through some of his things for his book. It was a mystery by a Muggle woman named Jo Rowling. She was quite good, really. He let out a triumphant, "Ha!" when he found it, and settled back on his bed to read. He got through about three chapters when his eyes started to get tired. Glancing over at the clock, he saw why; he had been reading for two hours straight. He placed the book on his dressing table, and got up to change into his pajamas. Before he stripped of his trousers, he took a Galleon out of his pocket with a smile. He always kept this one on him, though he knew it wouldn't be used again. He set it on top of his book and kept changing. When he was ready for bed, he lay down and picked the fake Galleon up again. Turning it between his fingers, he remembered the Battle. His moment of glory, and his parents' avengement by the hand of Molly Weasley came to his mind, as it always did when he was tired. He smiled, remembering that horrible, wonderful night. Getting an idea, he sat up and picked up his wand.

_"Beornan!"_ he said, burning a small hole at the top of the coin. He waved his wand and conjured a chain from nothing, and strung it through the coin.

"There," he said, setting it back down on the table.

Lying back down, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

**FaM**

Neville made it to the greenhouses early the next day. He figured Professor Sprout was still at breakfast. He has snagged a danish and a mug of cocoa from the kitchen so he could get to work early. Popping the last bit of pastry into his mouth, he wiped his hands on his pants and put on an apron. Sprout had asked him to move some boxes of Blusterpods to the first years' greenhouse. Glad that he had worked out a bit in Spain, Neville heaved the first box into his arms and transported it through the far door to Greenhouse One. By the time Professor Sprout entered the greenhouses, Neville had lifted the last box onto the table and was now opening and sorting the large seeds for today's class. Neville quickly did the math in his head: thirty pods to a tray, twenty trays for the class, three classes; eighteen hundred pods total.

"Oh good Neville, you're already here," Sprout said.

"Morning Professor," he said, scooping some more pods into a tray.

They worked quietly for another thirty minutes before the students came in. By that time, they had sorted all of the Blusterpods and were wrapping the branches of the small Yellow Argos Bush.

"Keep wrapping the branches for a moment while I talk to the students. We're working on a project for Madam Pomphrey and we'll need to use most of the bushes leaves later."

She handed him the wrappers and went to address the class.

"Good morning everyone!"

"Morning Professor Sprout!"

"Today we'll be extracting the seeds from the Blusterpods. You'll need to be extra careful so that you don't cut them up when you remove the shell."

She picked up a large blue-green orb, about the size of the lid to a bottle of mouthwash, from in front of her. Placing it on the cutting board, she said,

"You will note that the stems have all been removed for you. Place your knives at the top, like so, and cut so it goes straight down the middle."

She cut and the pod split open. Inside were four pale blue seeds.

"You can simply take the seeds out with your hands. They are a little fragile, so don't squeeze them. Put them in the pots in front of you when you have collected them. If you have trouble, Master Longbottom or I will assist you. You may begin!"

The kids got to work. Neville looked over his shoulder from wrapping the branches for a second and saw Sprout walking round the table assisting here and there. When he was done with his task, he did the same. He was surprised at how readily the students asked his opinion as well as Sprout's. Getting called "Master Longbottom" was pretty cool too…

They got through two classes of this with only minor incident. A couple of Gryffindor girls had wanted to see if the pods would bounce, and ended up splattering everyone in a five foot radius, including Neville, with Blusterpod juice. In the second class, the Ravenclaw he had waved to the previous night nicked her finger on the knife. Neville simply healed it for her and said,

"No worries. I did that too, only it was with a Flutterby bush, so I ended up chopping off half of a branch as well."

Sprout, who had paused to make sure the girl was ok, began laughing as she remembered this. The rest of the class ran smoothly, and when the Ravenclaws left, it was time for lunch. Excusing himself from the greenhouses, Neville removed his apron and made his way to the kitchens.

About twenty elves began offering him tea when he entered.

"No thank you," he smiled, "I wonder, though, could I get a sandwich and some pumpkin juice sent to my room?"

"Of course sir!" One of the elves chirped, "When would you likes it?"

"In about…thirty minutes?"

"Of course!"

"Thanks!"

With that, he exited the kitchens and walked down the hall to his room. His room was quite spacious, with his bed, night table, and dresser. Through a door to the right of the room was his bathroom, and through a door directly to the right of his bed was his office. He entered the glass door to the small study and sat at his desk, pulling a piece of parchment towards him. Dipping his quill in ink, he paused for a moment, wondering whom he wanted to write first. He decided on his aunt.

_Dear Auntie Mathilda,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. The first days of my apprenticeship have been wonderful! I had forgotten how cold this place can be, though, and I don't blame you for wanting to move to Spain! I miss you dreadfully and fully plan on visiting this summer. Perhaps we can go hiking again? Until then, know that I am well and am keeping you in my thoughts._

_Your loving nephew,_

_Neville_

He looked it over carefully for a few moments before folding it up, taking the wax from over the candle, and sealing it with the Hogwarts stamp he had been given. He wrote her name on the front and put it at the head of his desk. Pulling another sheet of parchment to him, he dipped his quill in ink again and wrote:

_Harry,_

_Thank you for your last letter. I received it when I was camping in Wales, unfortunately I could not reply until now. I am at Hogwarts now, as an apprentice to Professor Sprout. The job is going wonderfully. We should meet up sometime; I haven't seen you in so long. What are you doing Friday for lunch? Would you care to meet me at the Three Broomsticks? Hope you are well, and my best to the Weasleys._

_Neville_

Before Neville could seal this one, there was a knock at his door. Opening it, he saw two house elves standing before him. One had a tray with a sandwich and chips, the other had a tray with a flask of pumpkin juice and a small spice cake.

"Sir's lunch!" the one with the sandwich said.

"Thank you very much!" Neville said, as they set the trays on his night table.

"Sir is very welcome," they bowed and exited.

After he had eaten, Neville walked back down to the greenhouses. Sprout had told him that morning that they would be making the base solution that Madam Pomphrey needed for her potion to cure burns. Walking in he saw that she had put all of the seeds collected that morning into one bucket so he could begin. He moved the bucket into the unused greenhouse and set it on the table next to a long aluminum pan. He walked over to the Yellow Argos Bush and saw that the wrapping paper had turned purple from absorbing the sap. He lined the pan with the wrappers and pressed down on them so that the sap came out. Taking the wrappers out, he rang each of them in his hands so the remaining sap fell into the pan of liquid. He left the pan on the table and went back to the bush to pick off the leaves. He took sixteen of the bigger leaves off of the bush and cut them in half. He soaked some of the cut leaves in the sap from the tree, then took a handful of the Blusterpod seeds and spread them over the submerged leaves; he put another layer of leaves and seeds over the first layer and continued this pattern until the pan was full and he had seven layers. He used the flat edge of his spade to press them down. Covering the pan with paper, he carried it to the window ledge and looked at his watch. Fifteen minutes later, he took the pan back to the table and uncovered it. All of the leaves inside were glowing gold. He took the sticky substance out of the pan and opened each layer. The seeds were bedded in the leaves enough to cut them up and make them into paste.

"This is way too much like cooking," Neville said to himself.

Finally, after about an hour of cutting, rolling, and grinding, he had the pan full of a thick yellow-red paste. He scraped it into two large glass vials, stoppered them and put them in his canvas bag to take to the hospital wing.

"I'm going to deliver these, Professor," he told Sprout as she handed a different knife to one of the first year Slytherins.

"Alright, I'll see you later."

**FaM**

The wind picked up as Neville walked down the path to Hogsmeade that Friday. He pulled his cloak tighter around him and sped up. When he entered the Three Broomsticks five minutes later, he spied Harry sitting at a small table in the corner. He ordered his drink and paid Madam Rosemerta before going over to Harry.

"Neville!" his former classmate said.

"How're you Harry?"

"Good, you?"

They made small talk for a few more minutes before a woman came over to their table with a notepad.

"May I take your order?"

**FaM**

The present day Neville opened his eyes as he heard his son wake up.

"Daddy?" he said.

"Hi there Frankie," Neville said, picking his son up.

"Why aren't you 'sleep?"

"It got cold and I couldn't, so I came in here to check on you. I sort of dozed off. I was thinking about the first time I saw your mummy after the bad wizard lost the war."

"Will you tell me?"

Being very familiar with his son's sleeping habits (once the kid was awake, he was awake), Neville let him snuggle closer and began to tell him what had happened after that day in the Three Broomsticks.

**_LbN: Hope you liked the chapter! Just so there's no confusion, "present day Neville" is having flashbacks. Reviews rock!!_**


	4. Some New Beginnings

**_LbN: Woo, I had some serious writer's block with this one...Here's the last chapter; the first chapter of the next story will be up in a few days!_**

**FaM**

"Hi there Neville," Hannah smiled as he made his way to one of the smaller tables, "The usual?"

"I'll just have the soup today, thanks," he replied cheerfully, "And a gillywater with cherry."

"Alright," she nodded, "I'll have it right out."

"Thanks Hannah," Neville smiled.

Ever since his first Friday back, Neville had become a regular in the Three Broomsticks. He would come in every Friday, sometimes joined by Harry, just to have a drink or a quick sandwich. Harry had more than once suggested that Neville had other motives besides food that was keeping him coming back; to which Neville would simply blush and shrug. The fact of the matter was that it was all well and good talking to Hannah a little each week, but Neville had yet to pluck up the nerve to ask her out. So yes, he did have ulterior motives in visiting the Hogsmeade pub.

After a few minutes, Hannah brought his lunch out and he thanked her, as he always did. Her next question caught him a little off guard.

"Do you always wear that?" she asked, pointing to his DA coin; the top half of which was just visible inside of his robes.

"Yeah," he answered, "I dunno…I've always kept it with me, so I figured I'd make it into a pendant."

"The kids must be really impressed."

"I don't show it off, really," Neville shrugged, "A couple have seen it when I'm working, but they haven't said anything."

"Ah," she nodded, "They're probably shy. I'll let you eat now," she smiled, "See you around?"

"Yeah!"

**FaM**

Neville ducked, stunned at his quick reflexes, as one of the Bouncing Bulbs Micha and Blair, twins from Ravenclaw, were planting went soaring/bouncing across the greenhouse. As it started to loose momentum, Neville pointed his wand and said, "_Immobulus!_" and the bulb came to a halt.

"Sorry, Master Longbottom," Micha blushed as Neville bent down to pick up the orb.

"It's alright, Micha," Neville said, handing him the renegade seedling.

"What's that?" Blair asked, nodding at Neville.

The Herbology apprentice looked down and saw his DA coin dangling from his neck. It must have slipped out when he was picking up the bulb.

"Oh, this? This was one of the coins the DA members used to communicate with each other during the second war," he explained.

The brother and sister's eyes widened as they looked at him.

"I told you!" Blair said to her brother, "I knew you were in it!"

"I was," Neville nodded.

The twins looked deeply impressed, and went back to planting. After a few minutes, Micha looked up from his dirt covered hands and said,

"We've always wanted to be in a club."

Neville looked up; the interested expression on his face telling Micha it was alright to continue.

"In primary school, we were the only wizards there. Everyone thought we were a bit odd; so we never really made friends. Any time we tried to join in an activity, the kids would kind of ignore us."

"It's gotten better here?" Neville prompted.

"A little," Blair muttered, "People still think we're a bit odd."

"D'you think _we_ could start a DA?" Micha blurted. Neville had known that this was the conversation's destination, and therefore, was ready with his answer.

"Sure I do," he nodded, "But ours was student led; who would you get to lead yours?"

"You," the twins said simply.

Neville chuckled.

"Of course," Micha thought aloud, "We might have to change the name, since, you know…"

"It was the Defense Association before Dumbledore's Army," Neville supplied, "I'm sure you could go back to that name. Let me run the idea by the Headmistress, alright? If she approves, we can start making advertisements and see who's interested."

**FaM**

McGonagall approved. Heartily, in fact.

Neville had spoken to her at dinner that very night, and she thought the idea was splendid. Now he was walking through the halls, down to Professor Greggor's apartment. He knocked on the DADA teacher's door and waited. Almost immediately, Greggor's kind, stern face appeared before him.

"Neville!" he smiled, "To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"

"I've a question for you," Neville said as the older teacher showed him in.

They sat at a small table and discussed the idea for a new, school sanctioned DA. Neville explained that he wanted the actual Defense teacher there, as well as him, for it to be more official.

"Well," Greggor said after Neville had finished talking, "That is an interesting idea. I think I should like to assist you! Where are we in the planning for this?"

"I've gotten McGonagall's approval," Neville said, "You know the Garwen twins, yes? They're going to be helping me with advertising."

"It sounds like we're on our way then," Greggor nodded with approval.

The next week was a flurry of activity for Neville. Between helping make different solutions for Madam Pomphrey, tutoring some of the students, and helping Micha and Blair create posters for the new DA, by the time Friday rolled around, he was exhausted. He put the finishing touches on a copy of his favorite poster "The DA—Still Recruiting!" and put it on the table next to the rest.

"Alright you two, let's knock off for lunch."

The twins' paint smeared faces looked up at him from the posters they were working on. They nodded and put their supplies away. On the ground floor, he wished them a good afternoon and headed to his room. After a quick wash and a change, he was on his way down to Hogsmeade Village.

**FaM**

"Hey there Neville," Hannah said cheerfully, "The usual today?"

"Yes please," Neville smiled, "Thanks Hannah."  
"No problem."

As he sat and sipped his water, a strange feeling came over Neville. He didn't know what was getting into him; if it was the excitement about the DA starting next Friday, or if he was just looking forward to a break from the week. Whatever the reason, he was feeling a bit reckless. When Hannah came back with his roast beef sandwich and crisps he took a deep breath and asked,

"Hannah? How would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?"

* * *

"Good 'tory Daddy," Frankie whispered as he fell back asleep.

Outside was gray with the first fleeting rays of light covering the earth. Neville set his son back into his bed. He decided that right now was not the time to tell him what had happened next, so he simply tucked the little boy in and went back to his room to get a little rest.

**_Fin_**

**_LbN: Hope you liked it!! Don't forget to go vote on the new poll!_**


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